Stories in flesh and ink

Updated 11:53 am, Friday, April 13, 2012

Molly Pensitan shows off a tattoo on her left arm, in the Times Union photography studio on Monday March 26, 2012 in Colonie, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union )

Molly Pensitan shows off a tattoo on her left arm, in the Times Union photography studio on Monday March 26, 2012 in Colonie, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union )

Photo: Philip Kamrass

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Molly Pensitan shows off a tattoo on her left arm, in the Times Union photography studio on Monday March 26, 2012 in Colonie, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union )

Molly Pensitan shows off a tattoo on her left arm, in the Times Union photography studio on Monday March 26, 2012 in Colonie, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union )

Photo: Philip Kamrass

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Molly Penistan shows a tattoo dedicated to her father, showing music from the Paul McCartney and Wings song, "Mull of Kintyre", on her right arm, in the Times Union photography studio on Monday March 26, 2012 in Colonie, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union )

Molly Penistan shows a tattoo dedicated to her father, showing music from the Paul McCartney and Wings song, "Mull of Kintyre", on her right arm, in the Times Union photography studio on Monday March 26, 2012

Molly Penistan shows a tattoo dedicated to her father, showing music from the Paul McCartney and Wings song, "Mull of Kintyre", on her right arm, in the Times Union photography studio on Monday March 26, 2012 in Colonie, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union )

Molly Penistan shows a tattoo dedicated to her father, showing music from the Paul McCartney and Wings song, "Mull of Kintyre", on her right arm, in the Times Union photography studio on Monday March 26, 2012

Eagle tattoo on the chest of Don Demers at his Full Effect Tattoo parlor in Troy Friday April 6, 2012. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

Eagle tattoo on the chest of Don Demers at his Full Effect Tattoo parlor in Troy Friday April 6, 2012. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

Photo: John Carl D'Annibale

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Stories in flesh and ink

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Baker and cake artist Leah Stein looks at her tattoos this way: "You might change your hairstyle, your hair color, your spouse and where you live. But if you have a tattoo, it's with you until you die."

Short of expensive surgery to remove them, tattoos are permanent. And, for most people, there is a story behind each drop of ink in their skin — Stein's are an ode to her profession. Molly Penistan's celebrate family and strong women. Don and Matthew Demers, tattoo artists themselves, enjoy collecting artwork that is theirs to keep, engraved in their skin, forever.

Molly got her first tattoo in 1999 when she was 18, and "fully committed" to being a person who has tattoos when she had a half-sleeve of artwork inked into her upper left arm three years ago. But her favorite tattoo is the one that draws the most questions from friends and strangers. It's a bar of music from the song "Mull of Kintyre" by Paul McCartney. The song was special to her father, Michael, who played it on Sundays while he was making brunch for Molly and her sister, Meghan.

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Info: Admission is $10 per day or $25 for a weekend pass Go to http://www.saratogatattooexpo.com/index.html

Molly's father died in 2007 of gall bladder cancer. Molly had the bagpipe music from the song etched into her arm two months after the funeral. It makes her feel closer to him, even though he didn't approve of her tattoos. And every time someone asks about it, her father's memory is brought to life again.

Tattoos are a good conversation starter, Steve said, the ink on his back and arms have led to a date or two when he's been walking shirtless on a beach. The tattoos have religious and family meaning for Steve, whose mother gave written permission for him to receive his first tattoo, a cross on his right triceps, when he was 16. Since then he has had Psalm 28 inked on his chest. Steve became aware when he was 7 of the quote, "The lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in him and I am helped: Therefore my heart exults and with my song I shall sing his praise." His father told Steve it was his life verse, words he should live by.

Steve's most recent tattoo is the biggest talker, he said. It is another quote and a tribute to Steve's Scottish heritage. In black lettering reaching from one shoulder blade to the other are the words, "Every man dies, not every man truly lives." The quote is attributed to William Wallace, the 13th-century Scottish revolutionary glorified in the movie "Braveheart."

Leah's right arm is her moneymaker — it's with the muscles in this arm that she stirs batter for her cakes, and it's her right hand doing the work to decorate hundreds of cupcakes each day. The tattoos along Leah's arm reflect the work she does and the pride she has in her profession as a baker.

The first tattoo Leah had done along this theme was a cupcake in 2009. If you look closely, you can see a skull face drawn into the cherry on top of the cupcake, "because you can't be sweet all the time," Leah said.

Two years later, Leah's tattoo artist at True Tattoo in Saratoga Springs, Shenan Tucker, added a cherry pie. Steam from the pie surrounds a rolling pin, butter, whisk, pastry bag, eggs, vanilla and chocolate chip cookies. At some point, Leah said she will ask Shenan to add the molecular structure of sugar and other baking equipment.

The tattoos are both a tribute to baking and advertising. Leah said questions about her tattoos — particularly the cupcake, because it is the most visible — lead to a discussion of her cake art.

"Some people put bumper stickers on their cars. I did this," she said.

Don Demers, 42, Troy. Tattoo artist.

Don has been tattooing professionally for more than 20 years, a vocation born of a lifetime drawing and doodling on whatever surface was in front of him — whether it was paper or a desk at school. His last "real job," as a roofer, was in 1991. He is known for his ability to relay a portrait from a photograph to flesh in black and gray ink.

The popularity of reality TV shows based on tattooing and work by celebrity artist Kat Von D has pushed demand for portraits, Don said. But the artist himself has no portraits on his body. Instead, Don's skin is a collection of work by artists he respects. He has "South Troy" tattooed on the inside of his bottom lip. There is a broken chain tattooed on his left leg in honor of a deceased pet dog; his stepfather's signature on his left wrist; a foo dog on the inside of his right biceps, a symbol of protection ringed by the names of his three sons; a castle on his left biceps based on a drawing he did in high school; and his last name in graffiti-style letters on his stomach — both tattoos he did by himself with help from an assistant to pull the skin into a taught canvas.

A blob smaller than the size of a dime on the web between his left thumb and pointer finger is what remains of his first tattoo. It was done prison-style with a needle wrapped with thread to hold ink created by burning newspaper to create ash. Years ago it was a cross, but time and age have blurred the lines.

A tattoo on Don's chest, done when he was 24 or 25 years old, is one of his favorites. It is an image he pulled from a book of an eagle perched on an American flag draped over crossed battle axes, drums and a cannon. The original art was a wood block carving, and Demers likes the patriotism the tattoo projects. Don's oldest son, Matthew, 22, is also a tattoo artist. His tattoos

show a generational shift from his father's ink. Most of Don's tattoos were done when "color was for girls." Matthew inked his first tattoo, a small cross on his father's shin, when he was just 13. He's been tattooing professionally at his father's side for three years. Matthew's favorite tattoo is an Asian-inspired wolf face done in black, blue, red and yellow ink. The words "Collar City," a reference to his hometown of Troy, is written just above the wolf. The tattoo covers Matthew's entire chest and stomach and took six or seven sittings to complete, Matthew said. It commemorates time he spent with friends in Missouri who called themselves the Wolf Pack.

Nicole got her first tattoo under happy-go-lucky circumstances. It is a lotus flower inked into her lower back to symbolize peace and serenity. She and a friend went to the tattoo shop together and left with matching tattoos.

It was in 2003, and Nicole was content with just one tattoo, despite urging from her brother, Jason Willis, a Marine who was "covered with tattoos," to get another one done. But it wasn't until Jason died that Nicole went back for another tattoo. Jan. 28 Jason was stabbed to death in his apartment in Riverside, Calif. He was 29.

During Jason's funeral, she called on her whole family to get tattoos in his honor. Nicole borrowed from the first one her brother had done, a lizard on his back. It is wrapped around the flower on her back and it has blue eyes to match her brother's most striking feature.

The moments underneath the tattoo artist's needle were emotional and bittersweet, Nicole said. It felt like the right thing to do, but she regrets that she didn't get a tattoo with her brother beside her.

Ralph's left arm tells a story about his life. His tattoos also reinforce his belief where there is good, there is always the presence of evil.

The tattoos on Ralph's left arm symbolize his descent into addiction and recovery. The first one Don did for him is a portrait of Uncle Sam, begging. For Ralph, it symbolized the feeling he had that Troy, known as the home of the patriotic image, was always taking from him. Other tattoos on Ralph's arm show men in distress — a homeless guy, two male figures struggling to crawl out of the earth. A gargoyle squats on the inside of Ralph's wrist. Flames snake around every image. Higher up on his arm, a devil stands holding a baby with angel's wings. A clock with syringes for hands reads 4 a.m., last call. It's the name of one of Ralph's bands, and it's a reminder of dreams Ralph had during his stay in 2001 at a rehabilitation facility following his arrest for drugs. He's been clean ever since and credits his tattoos for helping him stay straight.